Living someone else's life
by mateja007
Summary: Harry is transpotred into the year 1970Neville's fault ,thought to be an orphan and adopted. What's the problem? His new name is Severus Snape.Would anyone like to be my beta? TEMPORARILY ON HOLDrevritingcorrecting
1. And so it begins

Well, it may seem very confusing, but it will make more sense when I post the next two or three chapters.Lucky you, I decided to tell you a bit about what I'm going to write.

Due to an accident #cough#_ Neville _#cough# Harry's transported into the year 1970, looking like a ten year old. He is thought to be an orphan and is adopted but imagine his surprise when he finds out that they named him Severus Snape! I still haven't decided about the rest, but Harry will probably have to live as Snape for the rest of his life, until the potions accident that sent him (Harry Potter) into the past happens... And when his friends find out...oh, all the possibilities...

**Disclaimer:** Am I making money? Well, yes, but not with this story.

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Chapter 1 

Harry stared at his book looking at the picture of the potion he and Neville were supposed to brew. He looked at the cauldron and sighed. The potion that was supposed to be green was actually pink. Of all people in the class Snape just had to make him work with Neville. The boy that started shivering whenever Snape even looked at him must have added too much belladonna. And it just had to be now, when Harry was trying to prove to Snape that he wasn't so hopeless at potions. In fact, Harry even enjoyed them though most Gryffindors thought he was losing it when he told them…He looked up just in time to see Neville adding some porcupine quills…Wait, porcupine quills? But this potion didn't even need those! »No, Neville! Wait!«

It was like watching a scene in slow-motion. Harry saw Neville's hand slowly opening and the shocked expression on his face turning into horror. In an attempt to correct his mistake Neville tried to stop the porcupine quills from falling into the already botched potion but somehow managed to knock over a small bottle of dragon blood with his elbow. The whole bottle fell into their cauldron, the blood quickly mixing with the potion. The last thing Harry saw before the potion exploded was Snape looking at him, a sad smile on his face. He felt the hot liquid on his skin and suddenly the ground seemed to be getting closer and closer. The students saw him falling, but before his body had the chance to hit the floor there was a bright green flash and Harry Potter disappeared.

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Snape quickly emptied the classroom and called the headmaster. After telling Dumbledore what happened he went to his office and sat in his favorite chair in front of the fireplace with a glass of whisky in his hand. He stared at the warm fire, deep in thought. »It has started…« he quietly whispered.

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Harry landed on cold and muddy floor. He opened his eyes and instantly regretted his decision as the sunlight blinded him. He slowly got up and looked around. Everything around him seemed…bigger than what it was supposed to be. He tried to remember what Neville's potion would do to a human being and realized that if it wasn't for the porcupine quills they would have brewed a highly illegal Youthfulness potion. It used to be really popular among middle-aged witches before it was banned in the 18.century. Really, it wasn't that much of a big deal as it only made you about 5 to 8 years younger, depending on the amount of knotgrass added to the potion. 

A quick look at his body confirmed Harry's suspicions. He looked about 6 years younger. He was still worried , while the Youthfulness potion could be reversed with some (OK, a lot) Aging potion, the porcupine quills could have caused some side-effects. As he was in a small clearing in a forest he decided to follow a narrow path. Soon he came to a small village that looked a bit strange to him even though he couldn't decide why. He decided that it was the cars. They all seemed…well, old fashioned. They looked like the cars from the late 60s that he saw on TV once. He saw a dirty old newspaper lying on the grass. With a strange feeling in his stomach he picked it up and read the first page. His eyes widened as he read the date. _13.8.1970

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_please remember, I still go to school and English isn't my first language (more like third, actually) so I probably won't update frequently and if you see any grammar and/or spelling mistakes PLEASE tell me.  
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	2. Screwed

Before: 

_ With a strange feeling in his stomach he picked it up and read the first page. His eyes widened as he read the date. __13.8.1970_

**2.Chapter**

Even though he was in shock Harry tried to think rationally about the problem. He had never heard of a potion that could cause anything like what happened to him so he assumed that Neville's potion was something completely new. And that was a really bad thing, because if it had never been brewed before it couldn't possibly have an antidote. That was IF it was a new discovery, after all, Harry wasn't exactly a potions master.  
He wasn't optimistic, knowing his luck it was probably something irreversible.

His stomach interrupted his thoughts and Harry realized that he didn't have any money, in fact, the only thing he had was his wand and he couldn't just walk into the nearest shop and say »I'd like to buy some bread. Money? Well, I haven't got any money, but I can change a stone into a bunny. Would you like to see?« He snorted. They wouldn't give him food, they'd send him into a mad-house. But he couldn't steal, could he? His stomach clenched again and he sighed. He would have to do something soon.

He spent the next hour exploring the village. It was even smaller than he thought but he did see a small shop and managed to …er, borrow an apple. It was slowly getting dark and Harry realized that he didn't know where he would spend the night. He kicked a stone, angry at himself. I mean, forgetting a thing like that! In the end he found a small abandoned cottage and fell asleep in front of the cold fireplace, he didn't dare to light a fire. The light would attract unwanted attention.

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When he woke up he saw that the sun was shining . It must have been pretty late because when he looked outside he could see some people coming from the small church in the village. He got up and pulled off the old blanket that he found lying on the floor when he arrived. There was a massive cloud of dust and he sneezed. He could feel the hunger and decided to leave the cottage and maybe get another apple. This time he wasn't lucky. 

The old lady that owned the shop saw him and before he knew it he was on the floor, an older boy holding his hands so he couldn't escape. » So, you're a little thief aren't you? You'll soon see what we do with little brats like you.« There was a nasty smirk on the older boy's face and the last thing Harry saw before he was knocked out was a fist aimed straight at his head.

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He woke up in an uncomfortably hard and lumpy bed, feeling the cool air on his skin. He listened carefully, but didn't hear anything, that was until a voice said »It's no use pretending. I know you're awake and if I were you I'd open my eyes and LISTEN!« Well, that certainly made it easier to get up. That piercing voice would wake up even Mundungus after a night of drinking and smoking god-knows-what. He looked up and saw the old lady from the shop, looking at him with a malicious gleam in her eyes. »Well,« she said » I'll go get John. And don't even try to get away or steal anything! I know all about brats like you, after all, my sister has a full orphanage of them« 

Harry looked around. The room was dark, it either didn't have windows or they were boarded-up.He could see no way to escape unnoticed. Oh yeah…he was screwed…

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_I'm sorry for the long wait. The length of this chapter is probably very disappointing, but I do have a life, you know. With all those tests and assignments I didn't have any time to write anything. Well, I had a whole chapter of »The very secret diary« spell-checked and ready to post, but then I somehow managed to lose it. I still don't know what exactly I did, but I guess I'll just have to write the whole thing again Now that I have more free time I'll try to update more frequently and write longer chapters_


	3. Welcome to hell

John turned out to be a tall man, obviously in his late fifties. He was quite a figure, with his impressive height and bushy eyebrows, yet his posture and cowardly behavior reminded Harry unpleasantly of Pettigrew. After interrogating Harry he came to the conclusion that the boy was no danger to society and would make a _simply splendid_ addition to The St. Mary's Orphanage and was now quietly conversing with the old woman.

In the meantime, Harry was cursing himself for telling the man that his parents were dead. He only realized his mistake when John asked about his legal guardians. He couldn't exactly tell them about his relatives, his aunt and uncle weren't even married yet, so he just stared at the floor, not saying a word.

He was jarred out of his thoughts when the man grabbed his hand and shook him. "Are you slow or something? I told you to follow me." Harry had no other choice but to obey him.

The man opened the door and walked outside, looking expectantly at Harry, who was still blinded by all the sunlight. The old lady kissed the man goodbye, Harry assumed he was her husband, and glared at Harry. Harry clenched his jaw, angry and thinking about all the trouble he was in. John clearly didn't like that. "Quit dawdling, boy! I haven't got all day." Harry quickly scurried after the man who was already miles ahead, cursing whichever god he managed to piss off in his short life.

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St. Mary's Orphanage turned out to be an old mansion, which had over the years clearly fallen into a state of disrepair. It was surrounded by a tall iron fence, which was overrun by thick ivy. John wrenched the rusted door open and ushered Harry inside.

Harry looked around. The building and its surroundings would have been impressive if it wasn't for the tall grass that was suffocating the ancient roses, shattered windows, the façade that clearly wasn't up to withstanding the affects weather and time had on it for much longer and the smell of decaying wood that wafted from the building.

Even though it looked uninhabited Harry could hear an occasional shriek and what sounded like sobbing from the inside. It raised the hair on the back of his neck. He was supposed to stay here? Were orphanages supposed to be this creepy or was it his rotten luck that he ended up in this particular one? Well, to be perfectly honest, he didn't like it one bit.

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John walked with him towards the door and knocked loudly. The door opened with a deafening creak and Harry winced, but his reaction was not entirely caused by the noise. The woman that opened the door reminded him eerily of a hag he had seen once in an old book. Nope, he didn't like the situation at all.

The woman looked at him appraisingly and steered him inside. The place was cold and damp. "Follow me. There are some things we need to clear up before you can join your future friends" she said and led him down the poorly lit corridor towards what Harry guessed was her office. He was right.

She closed the door behind him and ordered to him to sit down. He did so and she started walking around him, a predatory smile on her lips. "Now, before you go anywhere you'll have to answer some questions." He shifted slightly in his chair, trying to get into a more comfortable position. Her smile became even more sinister. "Let's start with something simple, ok? Tell me, what is your name?" Seeing no problem in answering that, as his name was pretty common, he told her the truth. She nodded. "And how old are you, Harry?" At this question, however, Harry barely stopped himself from stuttering and told her, what he assumed, was his biological age. She seemed satisfied with that situation. "John has already informed me about your parents and legal guardians, or lack thereof." She leaned closer to Harry's face. "Well, Harry, Welcome to St. Mary's Orphanage." To Harry this sounded more like _Welcome to hell._ And he didn't know just how right he was.

She stepped away. "The rules are simple, though you might find following them anything but. You'll be a good boy, won't you, Harry?" Harry was more than a little unnerved. He was trying to look at anything but her and his eyes settled on a metal plate on her desk, which read **Angelica Craven, director**. "You will get two sets of clothes, access to a small library, a bed and three meals a day, but _that's it_. I don't know what you're expecting, but spoiling you brats rotten is not on my agenda. You will have to earn your stay." She turned to face him. "You will get up at six, eat breakfast and do whatever chores you are told to do. Lunch is at twelve o'clock. If you miss it you won't get anything. Is that clear?" Harry nodded, swallowing loudly. "You will have three hours to study; your knowledge will be tested every two weeks. After that you will get another list of chores to complete. Dinner is served at seven o'clock. The same rules apply here, if you miss the meal it is your fault. After that you can do whatever you want. All lights must be out at half past nine." She smirked at him. "Now, let's get you acquainted with your room-mates." Harry had no choice but to follow. A sentence echoed in his head.

_Welcome to hell._

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Thanks for all your reviews. As you can see, I finally updated. Hmph, you'd think I'd have more time since it's summer…oh well… Just so you know, I have no intention of abandoning this fic. 

_foolishbeloved – I hope my writing improved in this few months since I last updated. I have to confess that the first two chapters aren't nearly as well written as they could be. Hm, maybe I should find a beta?_

glassdragon2_– I have a feeling my update wasn't nearly quick enough (blushes_)

Susan Potter, HPFan-JLM_– I loved your review, and to answer your question: What he knew about Snape influenced his decision to become a death eater, but he had other reasons as well. They will be revealed later in the story. Sorry I can't tell you more, it would spoil the surprise._

lady sakura cosmos, Localfreak, Angela Lillith Potter, kitsuko, Moongypsy04, VtE, Flower Kid, Anashosh, TheWall


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